Florida Trip ~ January 4-5, 2020

Since way back in October, I had been reading the almost daily reports of an Antillean Palm-Swift in the Florida Keys. Unfortunately, work and other factors didn't allow me to try for the bird in 2019. Most of my friends had already gone down there and seen the bird, so my attempt to see it was going to have be done solo. On December 29th, a probably-wild White-cheeked Pintail was found near Naples, so there was even more incentive to go. So on the 2nd, I booked a January 4th flight out of Philadelphia. Later that day, I realized that there had been no reports of the swift from the last two days. I also found out that a local birding couple, Mike and Corinne Schall, had spent the previous two days watching for it and had been unsuccessful. Hopefully, that would change.


Saturday, January 4th, 2020

It was an unusually warm 86 degrees when I got off the plane in the late afternoon, got my rental car, and headed for The Keys. As I stopped for something to eat in Florida City, a heavy downpour preceded an approaching cold front. Now dark, I drove the rest of the way to the Kingsail Resort in Marathon where I spent the night.


Sunday, January 5th, 2020

I arrived at "the swift spot" at the Florida Keys Country Club by 8:00 AM and met Alan Schmierer. He had been looking for the bird every day since the 1st with no luck. The odds that the bird would show were looking pretty grim. We spent most of the day together watching for the bird. He finally left around 2:00 PM after spending five days there. There were a few consolation prizes that showed up during the day. At least three different Short-tailed Hawks put on a show.

Light morph Short-tailed Hawk

Juvenile dark morph Short-tailed Hawk

Adult dark morph Short-tailed Hawk

A pair of Monk Parakeets squawked as they flew past. I later found them huddled together on a wire along the south edge of the golf course.

Monk Parakeets

Other birds seen while looking for the swift included Magnificent Frigatebird, Double-crested Cormorant, Brown Pelican, Great and Snowy Egret, White Ibis, Osprey, Bald Eagle, American Kestrel, Ring-billed and Laughing Gull, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tree Swallow, Northern Mockingbird, Common Yellowthroat, and the ever-present Palm Warbler. I stayed until around 4:00 PM and decided that it wasn't worth spending more time there given the circumstances. While eating at a nearby Wendy's, I saw two Common Mynas working the edge of the parking lot.

Common Mynas

I headed back up the Overseas Highway, parked at the bridge over the Toms Harbor Channel, and got photos of a Royal Tern and some of the Brown Pelicans that were soaring by.

Royal Tern

Adult Brown Pelican

Juvenile Brown Pelican

As daylight waned, I continued northeast on US-1 and would use the WoodSprings Suites extended stay motel near South Miami Heights as my base for the next three nights.

Sunset in the Florida Keys

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Florida Trip ~ January 6, 2020

I left early and did the nearly 2-hour drive across the Tamiami Trail to the Lely Resort near Naples. It was here that the White-cheeked Pintail was appearing daily. At around 8:30, it flew in to the lake on the west side of Lely Resort Boulevard and joined several Mottled Ducks.

White-cheeked Pintail

White-cheeked Pintail with a Mallard x Mottled Duck

About an hour later as workers mowed the grass around the lake, it took off with the Mottled Ducks to the west.

White-cheeked Pintail

While there, Wood Stork, Brown Pelican, Cattle Egret, and Blue-winged Teal posed for photos.

Wood Stork

Brown Pelican

Cattle Egret

Blue-winged Teal

Other notables seen there included Pied-billed Grebe, Anhinga, Great Egret, Tricolored and Green Heron, White Ibis, Osprey, Killdeer, and Boat-tailed Grackle.

After not seeing any reports of the Antillean Palm-Swift from 2020, there was a surprising report of one from the Billy Creek Preserve near Fort Myers. Since it was only about 45 minutes from the Pintail site, I decided to drive up there and take a look. It was an area of impoundments and marsh that produced plenty of photo opportunities, but there was no swift present.

Beware of Alligator (not Dog) sign

White Ibis

Limpkin

Little Blue Heron

Tricolored Heron

Common Gallinule

Black Vulture

Wood Stork

From there, I drove over to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Since it was fairly late in the day, I didn't walk the boardwalk. Instead, I checked out the visitor center's feeders and birded around the parking lot. The only new bird was a Common Ground Dove at the feeders.

Common Ground Dove

I made the long drive back across the Tamiami Trail and returned to my motel for the night.

Looking southeast from the Tamiami Trail.

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Florida Trip ~ January 7, 2020

I headed south to Everglades National Park where a La Sagra's Flycatcher was being seen. I had seen one back in 2010 at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, but I never got the chance to get a photo of it. Just before I reached the park entrance, a Crested Caracara flew from one of the telephone poles.

Crested Caracara

Everglades National Park

I got to the spot a little before 9:00 AM. It was a dirt road through a thick hammock. I was the only one there when I heard the La Sagra's call about 15 minutes later, but I couldn't find it since it seemed pretty far in. A car pulled up from farther down the road. It was a couple who told me that they had seen the bird at around 8:30. They left and, soon after, an older couple parked and joined me in the search. We heard and saw two Great Crested Flycatchers but still couldn't find the La Sagra's.

Great Crested Flycatcher

After an hour or so, they left, too. Around 11:00 AM, I heard the bird calling close to the road and finally spotted it near the top of a tree where I was able to get some decent photos of it.

La Sagra's Flycatcher

Other birds found there included Tree Swallow, Blue-headed Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, Black-throated Green and Palm Warbler, American Redstart, Northern Cardinal, a calling Barred Owl, and a fly-over Short-tailed Hawk.

From there, I drove the three minutes over to the Anhinga Trail and walked the boardwalk, which provided more photo chances.

Purple Gallinule

Green Heron

American Alligator

A friend had texted me the night before to make sure that I knew that there had been a report of a Cuban Pewee at Pinecrest Gardens, southwest of Miami. I was keeping an eye on it to see if there had been any follow-up sightings, which there hadn't been, but I figured I'd still give it a shot since I had the afternoon open. Although most of the area was birdless, I did cross paths with a group of birds in the one corner of the gardens that contained a calling Red-shouldered Hawk, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, White-eyed Vireo, and warblers that included Black-throated Blue, Yellow-rumped, Yellow-throated, Palm, Black-and-white, Northern Parula, and American Redstart.

White-eyed Vireo

Northern Parula

Next, I headed for the agricultural fields near the Miami Executive Airport where a Zenaida Dove had been seen the last two summers. This was another long shot since it was winter and the field where most of the sightings were from was all overgrown. I got there about an hour before sunset and found several Savannah Sparrows and an Eastern Meadowlark.

Eastern Meadowlark

Then, a few Northern Harriers, including this nice adult male, flew by and dropped into the field to roost for the night.

Northern Harrier

At dusk, two Yellow-crowned Night-Herons landed on the road in front of my car. I stayed after sunset to see if any owls might be roosting there and at least three Barn Owls flew out and were circling over me and my car, occasionally screaming to each other. With the help of the streetlights (which I assume were there for potential future development), I put my normal lens on my camera and managed to get some photos of the experience.

Barn Owl

The drive back to my motel was a short and happy one that included a stop for a celebratory "Chocolate Frosty" at Wendy's.

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